to tonight on "world news," burning upheave value. that florida pastor says he will not torch the koran because the ground zero mosque will be moved. but we have an exclusive interview with the imam of the mosque who says it's all a surprise to him a story that has everyone from donald trump to the white house weighing in. e-mail hay them. why people from california to nasa and abc were cursing out their computers today. homeland security analyzing the avalanche of spam. taxpayer alert. another financially hit california city revealing that

local officials were hiring limos in paris. and, an apple ever? how many vegetables do you think your fellow americans eat on an average week? good evening from los angeles, and the news has been breaking a mile a minute today. on the story that has so many people confounded and taking sides. the florida pastor, terry jones, faced the cameras today to say he will not burn the koran in two days on the 9/11 anniversary. but he also said that he had worked out a deal that the mosque planned near ground zero would be moved. but the imam of the mosque told abc news he knows nothing of such a deal, and now the pastor has reappeared before the microphones again. we're going to tell you the whole story of this afternoon. and our christiane amanpour was

with the imam of the mosque, she'll be reporting. matt gutman is in gainesville florida where the pastor resides. let's begin with christiane amanpour. >> reporter: well, diane, i spent the last several hours with image feisal abdul rauf of the islamic center here in manhattan. i was interviewing him when pastor jones made that statement from florida. and, he shook his head in bewilderment and gave a statement to me in which he said, "i am glad that pastor jones has decided not to burn any korans. however, i have not spoken with pastor jones or imam musri. i am surprised by their announcement. we are not going to toy with our religion or any other. nor are we here to barter." and the imam told me that this whole issue is so sensitive because he really has to take care of sensitivities here in the united states and abroad. >> well, it was incredible you were there for this whole roller

coaster. stand by. we want to hear about your interview today. but we do want to go for the latest strange event in this story to matt gutman, in gainesville, florida, where pastor jones and his small group of followers first gained attention. matt? >> reporter: death threats against pastor jones came in so thick, fbi officials arrived here today to brief jones and his followers. pressure poured in from every corner of the government. top officials were debating to reaching out to this pastor. >> that possibility is currently under discussion within the administration. that is an active, ongoing discussion. >> reporter: finally secretary gates did just that. the warnings flew in from afghanistan, where the u.s. commander told our martha raddatz that while he supports first amendment rights, this -- >> could nonetheless endanger the lives of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of follow citizens who are deployed around the world. >> reporter: where there was

fiery reaction. in pakistan, they burned flags, and effigies of pastor jones. across the border in afghanistan, more flag burns and protesters chanted "death to the christians." insurgents there are circulating leaflets calling on muslims to raise your voices and fight together. iraq's president warned the burning would encourage more violence. and to hend that off, even donald trump stepped in to buy stake in the islamic cultural center. but late tonight there is great uncertainty about what was promised and who is to be believed. and diane, there is yet another twist here. just a few moments ago, pastor jones came out here, telling us he'd be lied to. that he was guaranteed the cultural center would be moved. that appears not to be the case. and so this controversy will continue. diane? >> as we said, a confounding

story. but i want to bring christiane amanpour back in, because we looked at the scenes of what has been happening overseas, and what people have been saying overseas. tell us more about your interview with that imam today. >> reporter: well, diane, he's just come back, as you know, from a rather lengthy overseas trip, sponsored by the state department, all about interfaith dialogue and trying to reach the moderates. and he says this has become a huge international issue, the issue over the islamic center in manhattan and the threatened koran burning. and so everybody, all over the world, not just here in the united states, is watching. and he felt, and he said to me, that he thought it was a matter of vital national security not to give in or to move that islamic center. this is what he said. >> my major concern with moving it is that the headline in the muslim world will be, islam is under attack in america. this will strengthen the radicals in the muslim world. help their recruitment.

this will put our people, our soldiers, our troops, our embassies, our citizens, under attack in the muslim world. and we have expand eed and give and fueled terrorism. >> reporter: so, he said he wasn't making any threats or predicting any terrible worst case scenario, just that he said this was an extremely important consideration in these talks about anybody potentially moving that islamic center. dian diane? >> and what else did he say about the equation of the koran burning and the mosque near ground zero? >> reporter: well, he said it was really -- he said, extraordinary, to try to equate destroying anybody's scripture with building what he called his center to be a multi-filaith monument, for all religions and groups to come and try to share the moderate ground of the current space, and he said there was no way to draw any kind of

equivalence. >> well, again, christiane amanpour reporting from new york tonight, having spent the day with the imam of the mosque near ground zero. and i want to bring in jon karl tonight, from capitol hill, because jon, as you know, and i'm sure you've been getting them, too, we get so many e-mail, e-mail after e-mail from all of you watching, saying, why is everyone giving so much attention to this pastor in florida. jon? >> reporter: well, you know, it's a good question, especially when you consider he has so few people in his con greg game. here at the white house, they noticed he was quoted saying he would consider putting off this burning if he got a call from the obama administration. so, that touched off a real conversation here, some intense debate about whether or not to give him that kind of attention. in the end, it was secretary of defense gates who was tapped to call him. we are told that he expressed grave concerns that the koran burning would put the lives of american service members at risk

and he asked him not to do it. and we are told it was a very brief conversation. >> well, again, it is the picture going overseas and everybody wants to make sure that there's no ambiguity about where the american government stands on this. thank you, for that, jon. and, as we said, we've heard from so many of you about your questions about islam, questions like this one. "does the koran or does it not teach violence against people who are not willing to convert to islam?" and, we promised you we will be answering this and other questions in our series next week. so, keep sending them in to abcnews.com/worldnews. we'll keep reading them. and moving on now to a story that everybody feared might happen some day, it hit us all across the country here, including at abc news. a computer attack, jachling inboxes with hundreds of spam e-mails. the same story at company after company across america, even at nasa. the virus racing around the globe. and for awhile, the firewarms and tech experts were no match for the hackers who launched it.

pierre thomas has been looking into it. >> reporter: diane, the attack targeting the e-mail systems of government agencies and major corporations including a b bc n began this afternoon. amock those hit, nasa, wells fargo and proctor & gamble. it was a trojan horse racing through data bases, luring in e-mail users by posing as a message from one of your colleagues. then, the virus name "here you have" offers a link. if you click on the link, the virus takes over your computer and starting sending out more e-mails under your name. i got hit with hundreds of these i mails in a matter of seconds and i bet you did, too, diane this appears to be a world wide assault and people have been using twitter to alert others about the virus, diane. >> and homeland security looking into it tonight. thank you, pierre. and now the words one california mother has been waiting to hear for more than a year finally came today.

iran says it will free the young woman, one of the three american hikers, being held in prison there. but there are questions about what will happen to her two companions. and, what kind of shape she is in. jim sciutto is following that story. >> reporter: it's news the hikers families have been waiting for since their brief reunion in may. but not under these circumstances. sara shourd, held for 14 months along with friends shane bower and josh vitale, will be freed in the coming days due to a sear use medical condition, which her family says involves the discovery of a lump on her breast. she already has a pre-existing condition related to cancer. in a statement today, the mothers of the three hikers said, "we hope and pray that the reports are true and this signals the end of all three of our children's long and difficult detention." their detention has become entangled in the wider standoff between the u.s. and iran. iran ape accuses them of spying. their families say they were just hiking in the mountains near the iran/iraq border.

>> we've seen iran use their prisoners as political collateral. the worse thing that could happen to them would be that something would happen to sara inside of that prison. >> reporter: there's no immediate sign bower and vitale will be released. but their lawyer said he is hopeful. does this bring any hope at all for josh and shane? "i hope," he said, "that the trial is now back on track and the other two cases will be resolved quickly." we reached sara's mother today. she had no official word from iran. she's focusing all her hope on seeing her daughter again. jim sciutto, abc news, washington. and we are here in california where politics and the political season is in high gear as it is across the country. and we've been examining some fascinating races, none more so than the one here in california for the senate, drawing attention across the entire

nation. two strong conditions, women, locked in a headline-making battle. they are powerhouse contenders in a high stakes race. carly fiorina, head of computer technology giant hewlett-packard for six years. barbara boxer, three-term senator. >> we have to fight for every job. >> jobs are my focus. >> reporter: in the first debate, fiorina hitting boxer on taxes, spending, regulation. >> the results of her policies are devastating for this state. >> reporter: boxer, striking back on fiorina's record as ceo of hp. >> laying thousands and thousands of workers off, shipping their jobs overseas. >> reporter: boxer has called her businesswoman adversary heartless. you talked about a heartless executive. >> when you lay off more than 30,000 workers, you ship their jobs overseas, it really hurts. and then when you're asked, when you're asked today, would you do

it again, you say, oh, yes, and at the time, when you say, i wish i could have done it more quickly -- my opinion, that's heartless. i'll let people judge for themselves. >> reporter: boxer talking about heartless business people. >> i managed hewett pack ard. and, yes, we had to lay some people off, sadly, but by the end of my tenure, we had created jobs right here in california. barbara boxer should be very careful about who she calls heartless. >> reporter: issues could not be defined for clearly. 69-year-old boxer, california liberal. once worked as a journalist before turning to politics. 55-year-old carly fiorina, once heralded as one of the most important women in business. she had a stormy exit in hp. she was diagnosed with breast

cancer in 2009. she started campaigning just months after her chemotherapy. her hair had fallen out. you made a joke, you said, i was nearly bald, i looked in the mirror. barbara boxer doesn't scare me a bit. i can't be that only easy. >> no, i mean -- many things in life aren't easy. did doesn't mean they're not worthwhile things to do, though, i must say, now sometimes when i look back on those pictures, i think, holy cow, it really was short. >> reporter: and if you needed further proof how clearly their staking out the two sides, carly fiorina has had sarah palin's endorsement, and barack obama has been campaigning at barber boxer's side. >> president obama has come out twice for me. he's so gracious to do that. sarah palin has endorsed very strongly my opponent carly fiorina. i think it says a lot. >> i'm very proud of sarah palin's endorsement.

>> reporter: you like to see her as president? >> what you know about me, i'm focused at the job at hand. barbara boxer knows she's going to have the race of her life. >> another of the fascinating races this campaign season. and still ahead on "world news," another southern california town shocked by the lifestyle taxpayers are supplied government officials. and, young soldiers fighting in afghanistan, old enough to remember the attack that launched their war. we speak value. and people like what we're saying. about how fusion is projected to hold its resale value better than camry. and has better quality than accord. as a matter of fact, people like what we're saying so much, ford fusion is now the 2010 motor trend car of the year. the fusion, from ford.

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talk to your doctor r and go to isitlowt.com to find out more. and now, a lot of people have been asking, how is it that in these rough financial times, california tax payers have been paying some local officials twice what the president makes? and that's not all. here's mike von fremd. >> reporter: the tiny city of vernon wants everyone to know it is an amazing place to do business. >> they all come to work in vernon. >> reporter: the salaries for the top city managers are astounding. $1.6 million a year. and the perks, even better. first class travel around the world, $800 a night hotel. this in a town that laid off workers and cut himself insurance because of budget problems. >> for these city officials to be receiving salaries larger

than the governor, larger than the president of the united states is absolutely unjustifiable. >> reporter: there are only 90 people that live in the city of vernon, but the homeowner's association says in these tough economic times, it's outraged that their city leaders were living the high life. >> shame on you! >> reporter: what is happening in vernon is also happening in the neighboring cities of maywood and bell. working class neighborhoods where the city manager was making nearly $800,000 a year. and the chief of police got $457,000. >> we have a case where hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money has been paid out under completely suspicion circumstances. >> reporter: in bell, residents paid extravagant property and suer taxes to help subsidize the salaries. four officials have been forced from office. activists say they were able to get away with it because no one was paying attention. mike von fremd, abc news, los

angeles. and still ahead, how many vegetables do you think your fellow americans eat every week? vegetables do you think your fellow americans eat every week? want to guess? oans. mike and michiyo were l to purchase a larger home to accommodate their family. matt was a star from start to end. he took care of us. he'll take care of you. we always like to follow up with clients and make sure that they know we're tracking their loan for them, and if there's something that makes more sense for them, we can present that as an option. the surprise was that there were no surprises. they have great technology, but they have people like matt. that's what makes the difference. it's an opportunity to help clients achieve the american dream. that's why i love quicken loans! ♪ i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down?

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the recommendation, three servings of vegetables and two of fruit a day. and the headline is, it's getting worse. at least on the fruit front. and we have better news tonight about american highways. the government says fewer than 34,000 people died on roomd roa that's year, and that's down 10% from 2008. officials credit safer cars, more use of seat belts and more enforcement of drunk driving laws. and, when we come back, are the very young soldiers in afghanistan able even to remember 9/11? afghanistan able even to remember 9/11? what started it all. financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think?

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here, 9/11 is nearly half a lifetime ago. private parker wattson still has a baby face at 20, but he is a battle hardened combat medic. when this war began, he was just a little boy. where you frightened? >> i was a little frightened at first but i was reassured by my parents that we'd be all right. >> reporter: as wattson watched the towers collapse, an even younger boy was there, running for his life. what do you remember about it? >> the booms. me and mom running down west side highway, to get across the brooklyn bridge. >> reporter: did you join the army then? >> then? not really. >> reporter: at 18, lee williams joined the army. today, he is proud to serve, like so many his age. i can't imagine you ever thought, "gee, i'll be fighting over there someday"? >> i don't know, ever since then i kind of wanted to. >> reporter: captain alex haig

was a college student in washington on 9/11. >> all my friends are serving, so it's something i think about every day. and it's very much a part of my reality. >> reporter: there is another reality for those older soldiers. they have been in two wars now, and they have suffered so much loss. >> i personally know ten that have been killed. personally. >> reporter: how do you live with that? >> i personally am numb to it. >> reporter: how many soldiers that you have known have been lost? >> there have been 12 on this deployment so far. >> reporter: how tough is that? >> you got too much other stuff to think about heror than that. >> reporter: indeed they do. so, while 9/11 will always be there, a powerful memory, these soldiers have so much more to think about every day. martha raddatz, abc news, kunar province, afghanistan. >> and for "world news" from california tonight, have a good night. see you friday. [ son ] i'm a good son. dependable. i call my mom every week.

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